Back together but in what capacity? (Picture: BBC)

The return of Cindy (Michelle Collins) from the dead is news enough, but it comes with the added bonus of having EastEnders stalwart Ian Beale home too!

Since Adam Woodyatt left our screens three years ago, after Sharon tried to off Ian with Christmas pudding and spaghetti, fans have been waiting for updates on when we would see him in again.

No matter what Adam turned his hand to, every interview always ended with the same question – when is Ian coming back?

Wait no longer as Adam is back where he belongs, as part of a major story that has seen his ex-wife Cindy return from the grave.

‘Of course we couldn’t bring Cindy back without Walford stalwart Ian,’ show boss Chris Clenshaw grinned. ‘Who was last seen fleeing the Square after his former best friend and then wife Sharon Watts attempted to kill him with a poisoned carbonara!

‘She’s not the first Mrs Beale to try to send Ian to meet his maker but he’s a survivor and we’re absolutely delighted to have Adam back with us.

‘There’s good reason why Cindy and Ian remain two of soapland’s most iconic characters. They’ve been involved in some of the show’s most memorable storylines.

‘During her drama queen reign Cindy had a scandalous affair with Wicksy, hired a hitman to kill Ian and conspired with lover David Wicks to smuggle the Beale kids abroad.

‘Of course, the drama didn’t stop for Ian once Cindy departed. His stories included his bitter feud with Phil Mitchell, numerous wives, the continuous drama with his kids and of course he was at the heart of the gripping Who killed Lucy Beale? plot. And those are just a few of the highlights that the Beales have delivered.’

There are clearly far more to come as we have had a glimpse of Cindy alive and well, lounging by a pool and ignoring calls from her alter-ego Rose’s husband George (Colin Salmon).

How Cindy is alive and what her relationship with Ian now can’t be revealed until you watch the next instalment, but Adam couldn’t be happier to be back in the shoes of Mr Beale.

Cindy has a lot of questions to answer – such as ‘how are you even alive?’ (Picture: BBC)

Ian and Cindy have had a tumultuous past – and the future will be no different! (Picture: BBC)

‘Working with Michelle has been like putting on an old pair of slippers,’ he laughed. ‘It just works.

‘The weirdest thing for me, since I’ve been gone, they’ve rebuilt the lot. I got out of the car yesterday morning, I just got out of the right hand side and I looked and thought “Where’s the Square?” It had just literally disappeared. That was the weirdest thing for me.

‘The nicest thing has been going back and seeing all the faces. The first day it must have taken half a day just to say hello to everyone. I’m amazed we got anything filmed on that first morning because I was just chatting.’

Michelle continued: ‘We talk about what it was like in the old days. We would row coming out of our dressing rooms, we would row going to the set, we would row on set and then we’d row coming off set. We spent our whole life kind of squabbling.

‘Michelle: ‘Both of us have mellowed. I think we’re both just a bit more kind of comfortable in our lives. It felt like it’s the right kind of time.’

We will recall that Adam did reprise the role very briefly for a moment which saw Ian say a private goodbye to Dot at her funeral – before then surreptitiously making a call to someone, assuring her he was coming home.

Declaring to us that he’s amazing at keeping secrets, Adam reminded us that he was one of the few who was told who killed Lucy, so it was a cinch to keep this to himself all this time since.

‘When we did Dot’s funeral that really was a need-to-know,’ he said. ‘There were eight people, basically the heads of department, they were the ones who came out and did that shot.

‘So, I flew back from doing My Fair Lady, landed on the Monday, shot the scene on the Tuesday and flew off to my daughter’s wedding on the Wednesday.

‘We literally sneaked it in on the Tuesday morning. No one knew. While we were filming it, Mark, who’s one of my oldest mates on set, he’s a sound guy, he just looked at me and went “You know. Who is it?” And I went, “I’m not telling you!”

‘I’m brilliant at keeping secrets!’

Now, the main secret may be out, but there’s a few more about to unfold for viewers on screen…

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After three years, Ian is back – in a major storyline!